More than friends, less than lovers
by Little Kakau
Summary: Being a cop means to be idealized as a hero, but also means to be cursed by criminals. Who has more haters than everyone else? If Scotty needs a help, who will he ask for? Co-written by LillyScotty *L/S* Please, read & review.
1. Haters

_**Author's note**: __I'm trying to write a fan-fiction bigger than one-shot. Hope you like it. Thanks __LillyScotty__, for help me at all (editing, story and etc).  
_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Cold Case

**More Than Friends, Less Than Lovers**

"You son of the bitch" Yelled a man to Scotty as he entered the police's car. It was normal. Being a cop means to be idealized as a hero, but also means to be cursed by criminals.

"Yeah, Scotty, you are the winner!" Lilly said to Scotty when they were back to the squad. "You got more haters than me".

"Thanks, Lil, I do my best." Scotty said as he sat in his chair. "I have two more than you, at the moment." He took his coffee cup noticing that it was empty. "Who drank my coffee?"

"What's up guys?" Nick asked, teasing Kat, who stood aside him, with a donut.

"Scotty, I don't know WHO." Kat said gesturing to Nick, indicating her had dranken Scotty's coffee. She slapped Nick's hand making the donut fall to the floor.

"Hey! I was eating..." Nick squealed as he was interrupted by Kat.

"Anyway, Lilly was saying to Scotty that he is the winner. He has more haters than everyone else here. That serial killer from the last case just cursed him." Finishing her explanation, she sat on the edge of the Lilly's desk, then both of the girls started organizing the files scattered around the desk.

"Hey man, I swear, this competition...I pass" Nick said to Scotty, who was extremely angry because of his empty coffee cup.

"Uh-huh! If it was a 'who-drinks-someone-elses-coffee' competition, you would come out on top." Scotty stated, not denying his anger.

"Calm down, man! I did you a favor. You didn't want to drink that cold coffee, did you?"Scotty growled loudly, slumping down in his chair.

* * *

It was a cold night in Philly. Scotty was on his way to home, driving his car, when suddenly he heard someone asking for help. Then he saw an woman, wearing gym clothes, sitting in the middle of the street. She was yelling and crying. In his whole life, he never had neglected to help, and this couldn't be his first time neglecting. He was a cop, it was nice job to protect others.

That woman looked like hell, her clothes were all torn, and it seemed as she had bruises on her face. But the lights did not help with his sight. Maybe she wasn't hurt. Sometimes the shadows mess with your eye-sight.

Scotty got out of his car, took his gun, and put his finger lightly on the trigger. He was walking slowly to the crying woman.

"Hey, don't be afraid, I'm a cop. What happened?" She stopped crying when Scotty reached her, her tears drying as he knelt down.

When he noticed the ambush, it was late. He felt something pointy and sharp on his left arm, and it made him scream in pain as his finger pulled the trigger. Scotty couldn't do anything, he passed out.

* * *

"Hey girls! Have you missed me?" Lilly whispered to her cats. The day had lasted longer than normal, and all what she wanted was lay down and rest. She was praying nothing would interrupt her. Lilly Rush never rested, she was usually to busy. But in this case, she had been drained of all of her energy. She fed the cats, and was lying on her couch, when her cell phone rang.

"Rush"

_"Lilly, we need you to come down to the bullpen."_

She didn't fault to notice Stillman's shaky voice. "Boss? What's going on?"

_"We aren't sure, but a kid called 911 when..."_

"I'm sure it ain't that important...nothing to do with us." Lilly was determined to end the phone call as soon as possible, her body ached and her head throbbed.

_"Lilly...Scotty's car was found without him. He's missing."_

Lilly felt her breathe catch in her throat. At first, words did not escape. "Okay...I'll be there soon."

* * *

"Ouch! It hurts! That idiot shot me." A woman said in the old, uninhabited house.

"Shut up! I know! I was there. Damn! Don't move! I can't see the bullet if you keep moving!"

"You could if you had a better hand." She muttered, but was interrupted by the man. "Shut up or you'll wake him up."

On the other side of the room, Scotty was lying in the floor. The dart in his arm was enough to make anyone sleep, yet, for some reason, Scotty was doing his best and succeeding in not falling into unconsciousness. He failed to lift himself off the ground, clearly without strength.

He reached for his cell phone on his belt, nothing. It wasn't there. He saw his suit's jacket next him. He pulled it to him slowly, the cell falling out of the pocket. He felt relieved when he realized his phone was on silent. Now if someone was to call, there would be no loud noise to distract the kidnapper. His gun was gone, but his cell was not.

He turned his cell phone on and dialed Lilly. As he did, he asked himself why he was calling her. _For help._ He said to himself, knowing he was desperate to be saved.

* * *

"Hey, any news about Scotty?" Lilly asked when she arrived in bullpen.

"Someone called his phone?" she continued, needing to her some sort of positive news.

"It says no service, Lil. We have tried over and over, no answer. "

"And what do we have? Any evidence?"

"The blood on the street, but the DNA result hasn't come through yet." Vera said, Will jumping in to add details. "And the car mark on the asphalt."

Lilly sighed, quite angry there was nothing to help locate his destination. Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, her eyes widening when it read Scotty.

"It's Scotty."

Stillman looked up, turning his head to the near by detective. "Trace this call."

* * *

"Scotty, where are you?" Lilly asked as soon as she answered the phone.

"Lil. God Lil. He took a deep breathe, doing his best to keep quiet. "It's blurry. I can't move."

"Are you hurt? Who's with you?" Scotty went silent as he heard someone walking straight to him. Lilly heard the silence, fear starting to rise. "Scotty? Hey...talk to me."

"Shh. He's coming."

Lilly did her best to keep quiet, holding her breathe so she made no noise whatsoever. The men in the bullpen gathered around, wanting to know exactly what was going on. Lilly quickly put the cell on loudspeaker, letting it lay on the desk as her hands started to shake.

"You didn't tie him?" The voice was loud, deep, and sounded very familiar.

Scotty closed his eyes, pushing the cell under his shirt.

"...are you awake?"

Lilly listened carefully, hoping to hear some sort of reaction from Scotty. There was a rustling noise, then a slit yelp.

"Scotty," she whispered unconsciously, biting her lip.

"What?" More rustling, and a few loud groans. "You didn't take his cell? I told you to search him."

Lilly's eyes widened, her mind trying to gather all this information at once. Who was this guy? Who was he talking to? There was two?

The whole bullpen listened carefully, everything silent.

"You know, I've always wanted to use a gun..."

_*BANG*_

* * *

___Let me know if I could keep this story. __I would love to know your opinion and sugestion.  
_


	2. Missing that feeling

It had seemed like days that Lilly sat in the department, going through notes, calling other detectives whilst doing her best to search for Scotty. There was no sign of him. After the gun shot was heard on the phone, the line went dead. Lilly was lucky enough to bring herself together before she lost her last piece of modesty to her fear.

She sat on her couch, tossing the files on her table. It was no use in working on any case. Her thoughts were drifting to Scotty. _How can I sit here when he's been shot? _Lilly slapped her hand to her forehead, gently rubbing her flushed skin. _You don't know he was the one shot. _  
_  
_After a few minutes, she stood up, walked over to her window, and stared outside at the dark sky. "Where are you Scotty," she whispered, her mind finally slowing down.

* * *

It wasn't easy for Scotty to move when he finally regained conciousness. His body throbbed, his leg more painful then any other limb on his body. He let out a loud groan, trying to gather his strength.

He failed, sighing as he slumped down onto the hard ground.

"You're awake."

Scotty's eyes opened, his eyes catching the other man's fierce ones. "What do you want?" Scotty didn't know why he asked, not knowing why he even needed to know the answer.

"To be honest with you, I'm not quite sure. It's thrilling to have someone of such priority in my hands."

"I'm not a priority," he whispered, wincing when he tried to move his leg.

"Oh, but you see, you are. Especially to your partner."

Scotty ignored the statement, trying to sit up.

"You know you've been shot?"

"I figured."

The man laughed, finding it amusing how Scotty took everything so positively. "I think I need some air. Don't do anything stupid."

Scotty was soon left alone, in the small dark room. He closed his eyes, letting his body linger on the ground. He gave up trying to regain his strength, it wasn't returning anytime soon.

* * *

"There's been reports of suspicious activity around a few areas. Checked it, no connection."

Lilly shook her head, looking over at her boss. "How is that possible?"

"This guy's smart Lilly. He wants Scotty for a reason, he ain't gonna let him get away easily."

Lilly colllapsed down into her seat, resting her head in her palm. "He sounded so familiar..."

"You know him?" Nick asked, raising his head from his desk.

"I don't know, no...well, he just...his voice was familiar."

Stillman removed his glasses, then leaned on her desk. "Where have you heard his voice before?"

"I don't know!" Lilly almost yelled. She muttered an apology, leaning back in her chair. "I don't know, but, I know we know him."

"We?"

"Me." Lilly corrected herself, trying to think back to when she had heard the deep voice from before.

"Well, I guess that's the only lead we got Lil."

"Maybe...what I want to know, is how this guy got hold of Scotty."

"He was driving." Nick muttered, his head stuck in paperwork.

"I am aware of that," she mumbled sarcastcally, a painful headache distracting her train of thoughts. "But...if he ran Scotty off the road, there would be some sort of damage. His car was on the side of the road, in perfect condition."

"What are you getting at?" Stillman was definitely proud of Lilly's sharp eyes.

"Well, this guy obviously got Scotty to stop somehow. I want to know how."

"You got a theory?"

"Maybe his car was broken down. Hitch-hiking...but I don't think Scotty's one to pick up random men hitch-hiking."

"What about random women?" Nick joked, laughing at his own joke.

Lilly's eyes caught his, her glare stronger than ever seen before.

"Relax Lil, jus' kidding."

"Well don't kid with me, alright? Scotty's in trouble! He's hurt."

"We know that," he whispered, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well don't act as if it's nothing!"

"Sorry." Nick decided to take the opportunity to leave the room, heading off to the break room. Lilly was clearly not in a good mood, and he definitely didn't want to be around when she snapped.

"Lilly, I think it would be best if you go home." Stillman suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, Lilly pulled back. "Who do you think I am? He's my partner! He was there for me when I needed it, I'll be there for him when he needs it."

"There's nothing you can do right now."

"Yeah, there is."

"And what would that be?"

Lilly sighed, standing up and gathering her belongings. "I'll find out."

* * *

"Why do you want me?"

"I already told you."

Scotty nursed his penetrated skin on his leg, pushing the cloth as hard as possible. "I don't see how this will work."

"Oh it will. They will do their best to get you back. Then I can get what I want."

"And what is that?"

"My freedom."

Scotty couldn't help but laugh at his remark, shaking his head.

"What?"

"Freedom? And what makes you think this will get you freedom?"

"They'll make me a deal."

"Oh no...they definitely won't now." Scotty was still chuckling to himself, overwhelmed with amusement.

"I don't see how this is funny, detective."

"I do. You had your freedom. Now, you will have nothing."

The man's anger was roaring, it was clear to Scotty. He stood up, pacing around the room. Scotty watched carefully, the man's movements fast and quick.

"I don't care! Just shut up!"

Scotty said nothing, instead concentrating on his wound

"Tess, get in here!"

Scotty looked up as the woman entered the room. His eyes stuck as he remembered her. The woman who he had stopped for.

"Yes?"

"Get him out of here."

Tess, which was obviously her nickname for her real name, leaned down next to Scotty. He glared at her, refusing to take her hand.

"Come on," she whispered, grasping his hand. "Let me fix you up."

Scotty was unable to move, his body still aching. Tess did her best to drag him out of them room, holding tightly onto his limp body.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping down his wound.

Scotty didn't reply, watching as her hands worked on his skin.

"I never meaned to get you into this...he just...he's very controlling."

"Help me leave." Scotty spoke, seeing Tess feared the other man.

"I can't."

"You can."

"You don't know what he's like."

Scotty saw the pain in her eyes as she wrapped a bandage around his leg. "That doesn't mean you can't get out."  
Tess shook her head, pulling Scotty to his feet. She lead him to a room. There was a couch, and a table in the room. On the table there was a bottle of soda and a few sweets. "You'll be staying here for now," she whispered, pushing him into the room and locking the door behind her.


	3. Making a Start

_**Author's note: **__I do hope you forgive for the shortest chapter ever on fan-fiction's history. I wanted update soon, so, this is a little about what is coming next. I promise I'll make it up soon. Let's go to the story._

_Chapter 3 _**- Making A Start**

In Lilly's head, the last line for the man who abducted Scotty didn't make any sense. How could he say he always wanted to use a gun and, immediately shoot a perfect shot. Clearly the gun was shot, but where? Did it miss Scotty? Did it hit him? The kidnapper was clearly smart, pushing all the right buttons to push Lilly over the edge. He was driving Lilly crazy, in a bad way.

Lilly still believed she knew the kidnapper, his voice so familiar. When she said that we know him, she really meant it, but how could she explain that? She didn't know. He seemed familiar, but she was sure the rest of the team knew him too.  
She counted herself lucky being able to hear his voice. For now, she would continue her search for Scotty, but, she wouldn't stop trying to figure who the kidnapper was.

* * *

"Tess, is cute, isn't she?" He asked to Scotty. "I'm lucky she's a nurse. I still don't want you die. She was nursing on Mercy's, in New York City. Do you like the city. Scotty?"

"Where is she?" Scotty asked. When Tess had left the room, he had heard them yelling as they bickered. Tess was pretty, but Scotty didn't find himself attracted to her at all.

Ignoring Scotty's question, the man continued. "I forgot, you never leave Philly, do you? You're a mamma's boy. By the way, I called your _madre_'s house" he said emphasizing the word mother in Spanish, "but she and your dad are traveling. Did you know that? They'll back in 2 months. Great gift from you, a cruise..."

"Leave them alone!" Scotty said if anger in his voice. "You got me, they don't need this shit. " Scotty was shocked at how hell this guy had done his research. Then again, his mother did need the vacation. With what she was going through, it would do her good to get away.

"I still don't have what I need. I think it's about time I get it." He pulled out his cell phone, dialling quickly. "Smile bastard, it's time to get what I need.."

* * *

"Three days and that son of bitch doesn't try any sort of contact." Nick almost yelled.

Lilly's phone let out a ring. It was a message. She looked down at her phone, opening the message. She received a picture of Scotty, along with a text message. "You know this bastard?". She checked the ID, but swore when she realised it was an unknown number.

"He just contacted me." She spoke up, turning her phone around for the team to see.

"He wants to make a deal." Stillman whispered, being in situations similar to this before.

While their boss gave some commands, Kat asked. "That isn't your personal number, Lil?"


	4. Catching On

_**Author's Note:** That's a real update. Hope you all enjoy it. :)_

* * *

Chapter 4:** Catching On**

The rest of the day was almost unbearable for Lilly. While squads were doing their best to track down where the message came from, Lilly sat at her desk, waiting for a call. She was positive he would try to make contact again.

Her hand found the back of her head, slowly rubbing the tender area. There wasn't much to do. Lilly's mind wondered to the message...The kidnapper either found her ID in Scotty's cell, or knew her. She shook her head. Lilly never, never, gave her number out. Not to dates. Not to friends. Not to suspects. No one at all.

All this thinking was not doing Lilly good. She stood up, heading for the break room when the department phone on her desk rang.

She froze, fluttering her eyes open and closed.

Nick rose from his seat, calling Stillman over. As the team picked up on the other line, Lilly picked up the phone from her desk.

"Detective Rush."

_"Ah, Lillian."_

_Lillian? No one calls me Lillian... _"Do I know you?" Lilly kept her cool, doing her best to not end the conversation quickly.

_"Don't play dumb, detective."_

Lilly sighed, leaning against her desk. "What do you want?"

_"My sister's freedom."_

"Getting down to business, eh?"

_"I suggest you take this seriously, or you won't have a partner left."_

Lilly heard the deep yelp, her widening when she realized that yelp was Scotty's. "What's your sister's name?"

_"Caroline...Caroline Rousseau."_

Lilly felt sweat trickle down her forehead. _Rick Rousseau. _She remembered vividly. _How could I forget._

_

* * *

_

_***FLASHBACK***_

_****__"What are you doing with my sister?"_

_Lilly looked up from the smaller woman, eying Rick. "I think it would be best for you to leave."_

_Clearly, Rick would not do any such thing. "What are you doing with my sister?" He repeated, pulling Caroline from Lilly's hands._

_Lilly stood her ground, pulling the woman back. The handcuffs prevented the guilty woman from responding to either of them._

_"We are arresting her."_

_"Why?"_

_"I think you know."_

_"No, I don't know! Caroline did nothing, nothing wrong!"_

_"She murdered Nora."_

_"Do you have evidence?"_

_"Yes, we do." Lilly pushed past the muscular man, taking Caroline with her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a job to get back too."  
_

_***END OF FLASHBACK***_

* * *

"Hello, Rick."_"Glad you finally caught on."_

Lilly's mind was racing. Rick was never a gently man. "I'm sorry, but Caroline won't get her freedom."

_"Why is that?"_

"She was guilty."

_"No, she wasn't."_

Lilly heard the anger in his voice, and she knew better then to push him. "As much as I'd like to help-"

_"You don't want to help, all you want is your precious partner back."_

"Yes, I do want him back. However, I'm willing to give to receive."  
Before Rick could respond to Lilly, the line went dead. Lilly instantly looked up to see if the action was made from her end, but it wasn't.  
"Damn it!" Lilly yelled, throwing the phone. The received fell with it, a loud bang ringing as it collided with the ground.

She stormed out of the department, needing air. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was she needed to get away.

* * *

_***FLASHBACK***_

__"I never thought I'd be sittin' here, wit' you, drinkin'."

Lilly smiled over at her partner, seeing his kind eyes. "Me either."

"Not really my thing."

Lilly nodded along, gulping down the rest of her drink. "So, Valens...how's things goin'?"

"Pretty damn good."

"Oh really?" Lilly asked, intrigued to see what had her partner in such a good mood.

"Yep!"

"Why would that be?"

"Mum's doin' better...family's all good. I'm all good."

Lilly laughed, resting her hands on the bar. "Wish I could say the same for myself?"

"Yeah?"

"Haven't really been talking with' my family much lately."

Scotty sighed, finishing his drink. "Sorry to hear that."

"No need to be."

Suddenly, Scotty stood up, grabbing his jacket, sliding it on, then grabbing a hold of Lilly's. "Let's god for a walk."

_***END OF FLASHBACK***_

* * *

__Lilly's blood boiled as she thought back to a time her and Scotty connected. _Why couldn't he take me? _It hurt Lilly, to see Scotty finally getting on with his life without troubles, and have to have it all ruined by one single man. Her head fell back against the cold wood, her body sliding down the wall until she hit the ground. Her head fell into her lap as she let out a small cry. She missed Scotty.

* * *

"Let's see how long it takes from them to get back to us."

"They don't have your number." Scotty said, but wondered if it would make any use. Rick didn't care.

"Rush is smart. If she wants you back, she'll figure out how to contact me."

Scotty sighed, reaching for the drink on the table. As he did, Tess walked into the small room.

"Get outside." Risk said calmly.

"I just want to see how he is."

"He's fine."

"No, he's not." Tess moved to Scotty, eying his swollen leg. "He needs that checked out!"

"He'll be fine! Now get out!"

Tess moved closer to Rick, whispering a few words into his ear. Whatever she had said worked. Rick left the room, leaving Tess alone with Scotty.

"How's your leg?"

"Sore."

"Wouldn't be surprised." She reached down, undoing the soaked bandage around his leg. She inspected the wound, then proceeded to clean it.

"Help me get out." Scotty wasn't sure what good it would do, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"I can't."  
"You can. I'll help you get out too."

Tess decided to ignore the question, continuing to clean his wound.

"Please," he begged.

"Your partner is smart, she's the only one who can help you now."

Scotty groaned as her fingers wound around the wound. "Is she okay?"

"Your partner?"

"Yeah."

"How am I supposed to know?" Tess was unsure to how she was supposed to answer the question.

"You heard the conversation. Did she sound okay?"

"No, she sounded worried."

Scotty's heart kept out for Lilly. "But, she was together, you know, not falling apart?"

"I'm not sure, she seemed pretty shaken up."

Scotty sighed, clenching his hands together. "Great."

"Why does it matter?"

"She's my partner. Lil's gonna take it hard if she can't find me. It's the way she is."

"Is that normal?"

"Yeah, it's normal."

Tess started to wrap the bandage around Scotty's leg, tightly. "In my opinion, that woman has issues."

"Why?"

"Because...she should have given up by now."

Scotty did his best not to chuckled. "We're a team, we stick by one another."

"Well, you better hope you do, because she's the only one who can help you."  
_**

* * *

**_

__Lilly flicked through the pages of Rick Rousseau's file, hoping to find something to indicate Scotty's location. She had found a contact number, but was hoping to find something more. She decided the first thing she would do was check out his home, before doing anything else outrageous.

As she pulled up to the small house, she noticed there was no cars around. Lilly pulled out her gun, then made her way to the house. She knocked loudly, but their was no answer.

"Detective Lilly Rush, from the Philadelphia Police Department, open up!"

When there was no answer, Lilly kicked her way through. The house was spotless, with no item out of place. She roamed through the bills, letters and anything that may resemble any sort of abnormal activity. There's was photos of Rick, Caroline, a few other women, and some children up around the house. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

She traveled backstairs, making her way back into the living. As she did so, she found a pile of letters in the corner of the room, on a rack. As she read through them all, she realized they were all from Caroline.

Lilly could only scan through them all, knowing time was not on her side. It stood out to her the repeated no's from Caroline. _No, don't do that. No, it's stupid. No, you can't. No, there detectives, their too smart. No, I'll never get let out then. No, I won't be free._  
_  
_Lilly's eyes widened as she caught on. The kidnapping was planned, many months before, and Caroline knew exactly what was going on.


	5. Just Realising

"Who did what?" Rick was very angry as he talked on the phone. "A blond, huh?" His angry voice was making Scotty more worried about Lilly than he was before. "No, I know her, don't need to call the police. I know she seemed mad...the problem is between myself and her." Rick was silent for a little while, listening carefully to the other person on the other side of the link. "Yeah exactly, you know me, bye!"

Scotty tried to listen to all conversations his kidnappers had, trying to figure out how leave the place he was being hold hostage in. He also tried to figure out where he was, and what the place was called, but he wasn't having any such luck.

"Tess, I'm going to fix some issues. That bitch is getting on my nerves. Later you'll do that favour. Do you remember?" Rick's voice was loud, and very clear. However, Tess' voice was unclear, and very soft.

Scotty did his best to get on Tess' good side, making compliments about her care and beauty. She seemed be starting to fall for his Latino charm. When he asked about Lilly, she wouldn't answer. So, Scotty did his best to keep complimenting her, hoping she would open up to him.

The only information Tess gave Scotty was a small amount about Lilly's situation. Tess spilled a few words that Rick had mentioned to her. A conversation taken place between Rick and Lilly. _"If you don't free my sister by this weekend, I'll make sure your partner suffers. You'll see him die, then you'll die." _  
Scotty wasn't worried about his life, he was worried about Lilly's. They both had a family. Even if Lilly's was complicated and had issues, he knew they would miss her.

"Hey!" Tess raised her voice, entering to the room, looking deeply into his eyes. "Don't worry, he isn't going to hurt her yet. He needs her alive. And today is Thursday."

Scotty shook his head. "I didn't say anything about her. I'm just..." He looked at Tess, she was well dressed. "You look gorgeous!" He said, keeping his plan to conquer her. It seemed to be working.

"Thanks." She whispered, sitting beside him. "I know you want to know about that Lilly." she sighed " I wish I had a man like you, totally in love with me. Someone who would want me, even if he was dying. Just someone to care about my life."

"I'm not in love with her. She is just my partner."

"Save it, I'm not blind. You're lovers?" She asked.

"Nah." Scotty really didn't know why he was so worried about Lilly. She was more the his partner for sure, she was his friend, his best friend. And she was putting herself at risk for him. At least it was what he had heard. He cared for her, because she was his partner, and his best friend. But nothing more, he tried to tell himself.

"Anyway, I'm tired of it, I'm tired of Rick. I'll help you if you tell me what you feel about that Lilly girl." Tess envied the way Scotty felt for Lilly. Deep down, she yearned for the same loving. It only felt right to help him.

Scotty took a long breathe, looking down at the floor.. "For me, more than friends. Less than lovers it seems though."

Suddenly Rick called out for Tess. She immediately shoved a needle into his arm, drugging him up. She left him there, alone, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Hi." Christina opened the door, a older woman standing at the door. "I'm looking for Lilly Rush."

"I'm her sister." She whispered noticing the woman staring at her baby. "And that is a mini Lilly!"

"Cute!" The woman had tears in her eyes as she spoke. "Can you please make sure Lilly receives this today?" She handed Christina an envelope, containing a letter.

"Okay"

"Thanks"

Lilly had asked Finn to feed her cats today, seeing she had been working non stop. However, Finn had a date, and had to ask Christina to do the job instead.

While Chris was changing her daughter's diapers, Lilly home's phone rang. She didn't catch the phone in time, and the machine began to play a message.

_"Lilly, it's Stillman. I can't believe you. I told you go home. Scotty is strong, he knows how to take care of himself, even in this case. You need some sleep to work well. Anyway, I called to say those phone numbers were disposable. But tomorrow we're going to the store to see who bought them. _"

Chris put her daughter on Lilly's bed, letting the machine end the message. She picked up the phone, dialling Lilly's number.

"Chris? I'm busy."

"Lilly, don't hung up. Finn was busy, so he asked to me feed your cats. I'm here at your place. I was about leave, but a woman showed up with a letter for you. Then your boss called..."

"I'm on my way home."

Lilly was home in 7 minutes, due to her fast driving. She brought with her some pictures she had collected at the empty house. When she entered her house, she listened to the message left. As it finished, she took the letter from Chris.

"Who gave you it, Chris?"

"I don't know her, some lady. Is it important?"

"Yes, it is." She muttered, handing her the pictures she had collected. "You see her here?"

"Yes! The thing brunette one! Do you know her? What does the letter say?" Chris cluttered out many questions, curious to what was going on. "Is Scotty okay?"

"Chris, take little Lilly and go to dad's house."

"Lilly you look awful. I think you boss is right, you need to sleep. Whatever is going on, I think you should forget it."

Lilly looked at her younger sister, shocked at her concern. "I can't. They kidnapped Scotty. I can't sleep. I need to find him."

"Oh...So that's what your boss meant in the message...I agree with him. Scotty is a big man, he knows take care of himself and it's midnight, you need to sleep sometime."

"No, you don't understand." Lilly felt tears starting to form, and she knew she was on the urge of a breakdown.

"Lilly, I know, but be honest with yourself. It doesn't hurt to sleep for a little while. They won't kill him. Just relax. It looks like you haven't slept in a week."

"It has been a week. But, I need to find him."

"Is something going on between you and Scotty that I don't know about?"

"No. We're partners. He's been there for me, I'll be there for him."

Chris took Lilly's hand in hers, frowning at her. "Lilly?"

Lilly wiped away her tears. "For me..." she sighed deeply. "More than friends. Less than lovers. It's so confusing. My heart and my mind are telling me different things."


	6. One Little Mistake

A while later, Christina left, leaving a upset Lilly alone in her house. She sat on her bed, staring at the letter. The woman who gave it to Chris was in a picture she had found. Either this woman wanted to help, or she didn't.

Lilly ripped open the envelope, taking out the letter. There were a few letters, ones between Rick and another person. She read through to the end, sighing when she realised what was going on. It was about a woman, named Tess. Tess was Caroline's daughter.

When she got to the end, there was another letter, directed to her. Clearly it must have been from the mystery woman.

The woman explained Rick was working with Tess to get Caroline out of jail. She said no more, only thanking Lilly for putting away Caroline.

Lilly collapsed down on the bed. The letter didn't help much, but now she had another lead. She felt her head start to pound harder. _I need to sleep. _Stupidly, she forced herself up, and pulled on her coat. She couldn't stop now.

* * *

It was dark by the time Lilly arrived at Tess' place. It was a small apartment. As Lilly burst inside, she found it empty. She did the same as she did with Rick's house - went through the letters, messages, and photos. There wasn't much interesting, nothing that could help Lilly.

"Hi."

Lilly jumped, pulling her gun out and pointing it at the younger woman. Instantly, she recognized the woman from the photos on the wall. "You must be Tess."

"Yes. You must be Lilly."

Lilly drew her gun higher, moving towards the woman. "Where's Scotty?"

"I can help you. But please the gun down."

Lilly made no move to do as she asked. She stood her ground, glaring at Tess.

"Okay, then you can keep it. But at least don't grip it so hard. It kinda scares me."

Lilly gently loosened her grip, stepping backwards. "Why? Aren't you used to guns?"

Tess shrugged, sitting down on the couch. "I guess. But it doesn't mean I like them."

Lilly sat opposite her, still holding her gun. "Where's Scotty?"

"I can't just tell you."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't. Rick will get suspicious."

"I don't care about Rick. When I find Scotty, I promise you Rick won't be around anymore."

Tess looked as if she was sick, her eyes drowsy. "I told Scotty I would help him get out."

"You're workig with Rick?" Lilly asked.

"Yes. Well, not willingly."

"Is Scotty hurt?"

"He was shot-"

Lilly gasped, staring in shock.

"But he's fine. I've been looking after him."

"Tell me where he is!" Lilly felt her blood start to boil and she stood up.

"Listen to me. I can't. We need to organise this, make sure it goes to plan."

"And wait for him to be killed? No!"

"You have until Sunday. Just relax. I have a plan."

"What plan?"

Tess stood up, smiling at Lilly. "Do you love him?"

"What?" Lilly asked, looking confused.

"Scotty. Do you love him?"

Lilly let out a nervous laugh, shaking her head.

"He loves you."

Lilly's eyes softened, biting her lip as she felt tears approaching.

"I can get him out. I just need your help."

"With what?"

"Rick goes out once a day, to see what you've been up to. He will go out tomorrow, at 1pm."

"Then it's sorted."

"No. There's others there too."

"Where?"

"In the house. He's strict. He's making sure you can't get in."

Lilly groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"I need to get him out. You just need to be there to have my back."

"How do I do that?"

"Stake out. But, you need to stay where I say. Everyone's watching."

"Okay," she whispered.

* * *

"I saw Lilly."

Scotty's head sprung up, staring at Tess. "What?"

"When I went home. She was there."

"Is she okay?" Scotty tried to raise himself off the couch, but he failed.

"She's fine."

"What happened?"

"Well..." Tess moved closer, lowering her voice. "We have a plan, to get you out."

"No!" Scotty's rough voice shocked her. "I'm not risking her life!"

"Sh! She won't be in harm's way. Trust me."

Scotty eyes her, not sure whether to go along. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you. It's too complicated. Just do as I say, when I say."

Scotty nodded, his leg starting to pain. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Why does he want his sister's freedom?"

"Caroline? Because he believes she didn't do it."

"Did she?"

Tess sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I think she did."

"How do you know her?" Scotty asked, curious to who she was, and her background.

"I'm her daughter."

Scotty nodded, surprised. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"Sorry, that you have to go through this."

"No, it's fine. I've learnt to be this way."

"You're a good woman, Tess."

Tess smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "So are you."

Suddenly, the door slammed open. "Get outside!"

Tess rolled her eyes, standing up.

"Now!" Rick yelled, pushing her out the door.

Scotty listened as he slammed the door behind, yelling loudly. Scotty heard every word, and didn't miss the repeated blows. Scotty could guess he was abusing Tess. He closed his eyes, trying to push away the sounds.

"You tryin' to get him out?"

Scotty eye's widened, hoping Rick didn't know she met up with Lilly. There were a few whimpers, and then everything went silent. Rick entered the room, throwing clothes over to Scotty.

"Get changed. We're leaving."

"Why?"

"'Cause your bitch of a partner don' know how to stay away."

Scotty could see Tess on the ground behind Rick, bleeding from her face.

"Don't worry about her, you won't be seeing her again."

"Let her go," he whispered.

Rick chuckled loudly, glaring at Scotty. "How nice of you detective. But she's mine, not yours."

"She didn't do anything!"

Rick ignored him, pulling out his cell. "Get changed, now!"

Scotty did his best to get changed, then was ushered out by two men. By the time he was outside, Tess was there too. Her face was already bruised, blood all over her clothes. She stammered over to him, grabbing his hand.

"Don't worry about me, he won't hurt me."

"Tess..."

"Don't worry. He won't. He couldn't do that to his sister."

As Scotty was shoved into the car, he washed as Tess started to run. A few men outside watched her, calling over to Rick. He muttered something, then climbed into the car. He intaked a breathe, believing they were letting her go.


	7. Not Letting Go

Lilly was sound asleep inside her car, which was parked on the side of the road. She had stopped in front of Tess' house, seeing Tess had not contacted her that day. However, she fell asleep when she parked, and didn't have a chance to go inside.

A sharp noise awoke her, her eyes flashing open. Someone was outside, knocking on her window. Lilly's hand roamed around for her gun and she sighed when she found it. She couldn't make out who was outside seeing it was dark.

Lilly roughly pushed the door open. If anyone would try to grab her, the force of her push would have certainly knocked them to the ground.

She raised her gun, groaning as she saw her boss standing in front of her. Probably he used the GPS coordinates to locate her.

"Lilly-"

"Boss, please don't."

"I told you to get off this case!"

"No you didn't." Lilly protested, lowering her gun.

"Not in those exact words, but you got my meaning."

"I need to find Scotty."

"Yes, I know. But doing it by yourself won't help. We're doing the best we can."

"And yet I myself have found more leads than you."

Stillman ignored the insult, knowing Lilly was clearly not in a good mood. "Sleeping in your car is not exactly safe."

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here?" Stillman asked, unaware who Tess was.

"This is Caroline's daughter's apartment."

"That didn't answer my question."

"I met up with her."

Stillman bit his lips, trying to repress his anger.

"She was supposed to help me get Scotty out today, but she didn't show."

"Well..." Stillman quickly moved around to the other side of the car, slipping inside. Lilly did the same. "Obviously they found out."

"Maybe."

"What are you going to do next?"

Lilly rubbed her forehead, still feeling quite sleepy. "Don't know. I need to find out where they are."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Go see everyone Caroline."

Stillman shook his head, turning his head to her. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"It's the best, for now."

* * *

"Hello, detective."

Lilly sat down on the hard chair facing Caroline. "Hello Caroline."

"Nice to see you again."

"I'm gonna get straight down to the point. I found the letters between you and Rick. Now, tell me where my partner is."

Stillman stood behind Lilly, glaring at Caroline.

"I don't know."

"Wrong answer. Where's my partner?"

"I don't know."

Lilly turned to face Stillman, her eyes turning serious. Stillman looked behind him, searching for guards. When he found none, he turned back to Lilly and nodded.

Lilly instantly stood up, roughly grabbing Caroline and shoving her against the wall. "I was never one of those bad cops, but if you don't tell me where he is, I'm willing to take on that role."

"Okay, okay! All I know is they were at the cabin we used to go to when we were younger."

"Why didn't Tess show up yesterday?" Lilly asked, Caroline still up against the wall.

Her eyes softened, her lips trembling. "Tess?"

"Yes. I'm sure you're keeping in contact with them all. Did they find out she was in contact with me?"

"Tess is alive?"  
Lilly's let go of her grip, Caroline sliding down onto the ground. "You didn't know?"

"Rick...he told me...she killed herself."

"No, Caroline. Tess is alive."

Tears dripped from her face, her body starting to shake.

Lilly took a few steps backward, finding Stillman. "We need to find Tess," she whispered.

"Caroline, I know you've just heard a lot, but I need you to listen. I think Rick found out Tess was in contact with me. We need to find her, and the only way we can do that is with your help."

"Rick didn't tell me much." She sobbed, drying her tears. "In Marysville, there's a cabin. He said he would take the detective there, and then the police would listen."

"Where's the cabin?" Lilly asked, handing Caroline a notepad.

"Please, tell Tess I love her."

Lilly nodded, helping Caroline up. "Don't worry, we'll be back."

* * *

Scotty winced as he tried to walk on the gravel. His leg was throbbing, the bandage now soaked with blood. They drove from long, yet the place they now arrived at seemed so familiar. Maybe they stopped somewhere on the way. If they did, he wouldn't have known. He fell asleep half way during the drive.

As he walked into the house, he looked around. Looks normal.

Rick pushed him down on the couch, then handed him a piece of cloth. "Clean your leg up." And then he left.

Scotty rolled up his pants, undoing the bandage. He heard small voices discussing something in the next room. Slowly, he stood up, quietly sneaking over to the door. He pushed his ear against the door, listening carefully.

"You think that's a good idea."

"It's the last we have."

Scotty heard Rick's voice, but the other deep voice was unfamiliar. He guessed it was one of the men who had driven in the car with him.

"Why don't we just wait to the bitch makes a move."

"She won't make a move. She's playing smart. She won't go by my rules."

"So?"

"So we'll go by hers."

"But that ain't her rules."

Rick laughed, Scotty wondering what they were planning. "Close enough."

"How do we do this?"

"Show up with guns. Shoot whoever we can until we get what we want."

There was a sharp intake of breathe, and then a clear of the throat. "That ain't gonna work."

Rick's voice raised at the statement. "Don't underestimate my plans! It'll work."

"But-"

"No! Rush is a very, very sensitive person when it comes to innocents. She won't want anyone getting hurt."

"You think she'll let Caroline go?"

"She better. I don't care who I have to kill to see my sister."

Scotty squeezed his eyes shut. All he wanted was Lilly's safety.

"Then why haven't you killed him already?"

"Because, if I kill him, Lilly will break all the rules."

"What do you mean?" The other man asked. Scotty was thinking the same thing, wondering why Rick was holding him hostage. He was not the most valuable in the department.

"She loves him."

"Rush loves him?"

"Yep." Rick chuckled, and Scotty heard the creek in the floor. "She's stupid. Falling for someone in her team."

"Okay..."

"She'll break the rules, she loves him, she loses him and I won't get anything."

"Alright."

Scotty went back to his seat on the couch when silence overtook the other room. He sighed, closing his eyes. Does she love me? He loved Lilly, that was for sure. Being away from her for this long, not knowing if she was okay was like death. He didn't want to lose her. As he went over the conversation he just heard, he felt relieved he wasn't going to be killed. However, he knew they would make him suffer. They would make him suffer to get back at Lilly.

* * *

"Lilly, I know Scotty is your partner...but I don't understand why you're so worked up over this."

Lilly drove to the cabin, her hands almost shaking. "He's my friend, I don't want to lose him."

"I understand that. But we are supposed to do this by the books, strictly."

"All I did was look for more leads."

"You should have told me."

Lilly barley held back a laugh, raising her eyebrows at him. "Why? You would have told me no."

"I would have told you to do what was best for you."

"And we all know what that is..."

"I wanna know what's going on between you two."

Lilly's breathe caught in her throat, her eyes widening. "What?"

"I've never seen you care for someone so much."

"He's...he's my friend, and, and my partner."

"Lilly..."

She forced herself to keep her eyes open, knowing she needed to concentrate on the road. "I love him."

"I figured."

Lilly bit her lip, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. "You gonna split us up?"

"Has anything happened?"

"No."

"I won't split you up. Even if something does happen, I won't. You two work together too well."

She let go of her breathe, sighing in relief. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me...now, let's find Scotty."


	8. Fearless

Sunday had arrived, Lilly unable to locate Tess, Scotty or Rick. After contacting nearly all of Caroline's and Rick's family, she collapsed into her chair at her desk.

"How can no one not know one thing?"

"You tell me."

She sighed, her hands clenching on her desk. "This guy is driving me up the wall!"

Stillman eyed, worried how everything was effecting her. "How about you go home, and we'll work more tomorrow."

Lilly rolled her eyes, straightening her body. "That better be a joke."

John smirked, Lilly was stubborn, indeed she was. "Well, we need to wait until he makes contact."

"Clearly, he doesn't want that."

"It's the last we can resort to right now."

Lilly took a deep breathe, then slipped her coffee. "I have a feeling it won't be enough."

"All we can do is hope."

* * *

"Get up." Rick seemed calm and content as he walked into the room Scotty was now seated in.

"Why?"

"I ask the questions. Get up."

"I can't. My legs killin' me." Scotty's leg was paining, but not to the extent where he couldn't walk.

"We're leaving, now!"

Scotty rolled his neck around, feeling his bones starting to ache. "I'm sure you don't need my help."

Rick was starting to get frustrated. He linked his arm around Scotty's, pulling him up. "We're going to see your partner, I'm sure you want to be there for that."

"Why?" Scotty unlinked his arm, stammering as he followed Rick.

"We're going to make a deal."

"She won't deal with murderers."

"Who said I'm a murderer?" Rick turned around, his eyes dark with anger.

"Ain't that what you are?"

"I've never killed anyone!"

"Tess?"

Rick sighed, turning around and opening the car door. "I never killed Tess."

Scotty could see the hurt in Rick's eyes. He believed him. Tess was alive.  
"Get in."

Scotty slowly climbed into the back seat, a muscular man beside him. Scotty smiled stupidly at the man. He seemed to be a serious man and Scotty couldn't help but try to put some humor into the mood. The man ignored him, sliding on a pair of sunglasses.

"Well ain't this a lot of fun." Scotty said, loud enough for Rick to hear.

"Don't worry, you'll have fun alright."

"So what are we doing?" Scotty asked knowing the answer already. They were heading to the department, and Rick was about to go on a rampage.

"I told you. Going to see that beautiful partner of yours."

_Yep, she's beautiful. _"Is it a planned meeting?"

Rick chuckled, turning his around to face Scotty. "No, but I'm sure Lilly will be pleased to see us."

The look of pride in Rick's eyes disgusted Scotty. He felt sick to his stomach and he couldn't help but shake his head. He hoped Lilly was prepared, knowing Rick was in full mode to do anything to get what he wanted.

* * *

"Lilly, get your gun."

Lilly rose from her desk, staring at her boss. "What?"

"Get your gun!"

Lilly decided to not waste time, she ran to locker, pulling out her gun. Quickly making her way to her boss, she watched as men were huddled in the break room.

"What's going on?"

"Rick's here."

"Here?"

"Yes, downstairs."

Lilly's blood drained, feeling her limbs starting to go weak. She lightly shaked her body, composing herself. "Can't we get anyone out?"

"No, he's got the whole of the lobby covered."

Lilly groaned, rubbing her head. "He's comin' to this floor?"

"Yes, so get ready. He's got Scotty with him."

Nick, Kat, Will, John and Lilly were the only detectives in sight. The rest were taking cover in the break room. Stillman did his best to get the whole team to go to the break room, but they all resisted.

"I'm not leaving, Scotty's a friend." Nick stood his ground, standing calmly near Lilly.

"Lillly-" Before Stillman could go further, Lilly looked over at him with her blue eyes. Instantly Stillman gave up, holding his gun up as they heard the elevator click.

The team watched intensely as three men came around the corner. All were holding guns, pointing them at the team. A few seconds later, Rick came into sight, Scotty flushed against his body, a gun pointed at his head.

"Ah, detectives, nice to see you again."

Lilly did her best to hold back her tears, taking in Scotty's state. All he coud do was stare at her, watching his partner do her best to compose herself. He breathed her name, Lilly biting her lip.

"Let Detective Valens go." Stillman took a step forward.

"No can do. Where's my sister?"

'Where she's supposed to be. In jail."

Rick smirked, pushing Scotty down onto the floor. He stepped on his leg where his wound was, causing Scotty to yelp out in pain.

Lilly gritted her teeth, fearlessly walking up to Rick. John went to grab her arm, but he didn't succeed. The three quickly stood by Lilly's side, blocking her from making her way past.

"You give me my sister, I give you your detective."

"That's not the way it works, Rick." Stillman slowly traveled to Lilly, clutching her arm and pulling her back.

"Well, then, say goodbye to your partner." The men moved, Lilly watching as Rick roughly shoved the gun against Scotty's temple.

"NO!" Lilly yelled, trying to run over to Scotty. Stillman pulled her back, throwing her into Nick's arms. Lilly tried to pull herself away, but Nick's grip prevented her from doing so.

Rick watched as Lilly fought to be let go. The team were shocked at Lilly's actions. Lilly knew the rules about hostage situations, and yet she breaking every one of them.

"Rick, we can make a deal. But, we won't make it if Scotty is not given to us."

Rick shook his head, pulling at a thick mound of hair of Scotty's. "I want my sister."

"She murdered someone. We can't just set her free."

Rick quickly searched the room with his eyes, noticing the blinds to the break room were pulled down. "You're lucky, you know? I would have killed everyone in this building if you hadn't have hid them."

"We would like our detective back."

Tears were springing to Lilly's eyes as Nick held onto her. She ached to reach for Scotty. He had not said one word, only watching Lilly.

"I would like my sister back."

"Rick, you don't understand." Stillman was doing all the talking, having experience. "We can get Caroline another trial but that's it."

Rick eye's connected with the man to his left, he nodded, then regained his posture.

"Well...that means she would have another chance to go to court again?"

"Yes. The trail would be done over again."

Rick nodded, pulling Scotty to his feet. "But let me tell you this, if she doesn't have another trail, I'll come back."

Stillman nodded, but inside he knew Rick was going straight to jail. "Okay, we can do that."

Rick pushed Scotty over to them, the men huddling around him. He turned to leave, but at the same time, Nick let go off Lilly. She gripped her gun, pushing past the men, facing Rick.

He eyed her, their eyes close. "It was fun, messing with you Lilly."

Before Lilly could stop herself, she pulled the trigger. Silence filled the room as Rick fell to the ground. Stillman and Will quickly cuffed the the three other men before they could take another step. Lilly dropped her gun, biting her tonuge as she realised what she had just done.  
A  
s she went to take a step backwards, she found herself collide with someone. She turned around, finding Scotty. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her head falling into the crook of his neck as she started to cry.

She couldn't help. She was sick of pretending. All Lilly wanted to do was savour the fact Scotty was there. With her. In that very moment.

"I love you," she whispered, sobbing harder.

"I love you too."


	9. Only Need You

_**Author's note:** Every story has an end. Thanks my co-writer LillyScotty for all and thank everyone for reviewing. Hope you all enjoyed this story._

Lilly rested on her couch, replaying the previous day's events. Scotty was in the hospital, being treated for his wound. She reluctantly left him there, needing to sleep.

Of course, things were a bit shaky. She had told him she loved him, and he had done the same. Lilly was unsure of where their relationship would now go. She decided it was best to not worry about it, knowing sleep would do her good.

Lilly slipped into bed, pulling the covers over he slim body. She closed her eyes, just about to let sleep find her when her cell went off.

"For the love of god!" She pushed the covers down, reaching over to her bed side table.

"Rush."

"Hey."

She took in a deep breathe, hearing Scotty's soothing voice. "Hi."

"Did I wake you?"

"No...I hadn't fallen asleep yet."

"Oh..."

Both Lilly and Scotty were lost for words.

"So..."

"So."

"Lil...uh, about before."

"Yeah..."

"Well, I wanted to clear it up. I love you. And, I want to be with you. But, if you don't want that, I ain't gonna push you."

Lilly couldn't help but smile, curling up in her bed. "I was the one who said I love you first."

"Yeah...I know."

"So...I want a relationship with you too."

Scotty breathed into the phone, almost jumping out of his hospital bed. "What about boss?"

"Don't worry. I already talked to him about it."

"Oh, so you planned this?"

Lilly giggled, her cheeks starting to flush. "No. He kinda noticed."

"Oh, ok."

"Yep."

"Lil...I don't wanna have to talk about this, but, you know Tess?"

"Yes."

"I'm worried about what happened to her."

Lilly sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Yeah, I know, I'm gonna go out in the morning and look for her."

"You don't have too."

"I need to Scotty. I promised Caroline I would. And, she doesn't deserve to...have her life taken from her at such a young age."

"You amaze me, you know?"

"Why's that?"

"You're perfect. I love how you love your job."

"Thank you," she laughed, pulling the covers back up. "So, how are you?"

"Eh, could be better."

'Sorry I kept you there."

"You had to."

"I know, but it would be nice to take you home, spend some time with you."

Scotty sighed on the other side of the line. "I missed you, when I was away."

"Yeah. You scared me."

"I'm okay."

"I know, thankfully."

They talked on the line for a while longer, chatting about things that came into their mind. A few hours later, they finally hung up, and Lilly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Tess?"

Lilly pushed the door open to Tess' apartment, walking through the neat area. "Tess?"

Everything was normal, and it seemed as if there had been no movement in the house. Lilly was unsure of where Tess could go, the only other thing popping into her mind was Caroline's mother.

Lilly arrived at her house, knocking on the door quietly. She knew the house well, seeing she had visited previously.

"You're back."

"Yes, I am."

"How can I help you, detective?"

Thelma was a kind lady, who had offered to help Lilly earlier. "Have you seen Tess?"

"Yes. Why she's here with me now."

Lilly smiled, walking in as the woman ushered her inside. "How is she?"

"Very sore. Although she is doing fine."

The older woman offered Lilly a drink, but she refused. "I won't be here long, I would just like to thank her."

Lilly made her way upstairs, pushing open the door to the spare bedroom. Immediately, Tess looked up from her bed.

"Hi Tess."

"Hello Lilly."

Lilly took a few steps forward, taking in Tess' shaken form. "I came here to thank you."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't able to stick around...to see if Scotty would be okay."

"Don't be sorry. He's fine."

Tess' eyes widened, a purple bruise forming under her left eye. "You found him?"

"Yes, I did. He's in hospital. I just wanted to thank you, on both his and my behalf."

"It was nothing."

Lilly needed to head back to the hospital, making the chat short and sweet. "You did a lot for us. If it was for you, he wouldn't be alive. If you need anything in the future, you know where to contact us." Lilly handed her a piece of paper, on it the numbers to contact her. "Keep safe."

The two women both shared a hug, before Lilly left.

* * *

"Hey!"

Lilly smiled, entering Scotty's room. "Well you sure are cheerful today."

"I'm feelin' better...'sides, I was looking forward to seeing you."

Lilly felt herself brush, upon tenderly kissing her partner. "Pain?"

"Not bad at all."

"Good."

Lilly took a seat on the hospital bed next to Scotty, he wrapping his hand around her waist and lying his head on her shoulder.

"When are you going to be released?" she asked.

"Today, I hope. But I need to come back for check ups, just to make sure it doesn't get infected." He said, motioning to his wound.

"That's pretty good."

"Mmm."

"Scotty?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I love you?"

Scotty smiled against her skin, sighing. "I love you too."

"Next time you see someone on the road, don't stop."

"I won't...because you'll be with me."

Lilly laughed, shaking her head. "Probably right."

**THE END.**


End file.
